PhD Candidate Resume Sample

When youre searching for your next job, reading resume samples and getting advice from experts will help you with your job applications. Were using a PhD Candidate resume sample where resume experts have found some mistakes to avoid.

Summary statement

The Business Administration Student resume starts off with the Education section, but instead, it should start with a summary statement that is about 4-6 lines long and addresses an overview of your experience, two or three skill sets and valuable soft skills or personality traits. This should be written as one paragraph, not in bullet points.

Skills section

This PhD Candidate resume has a Summary of Skills section at the top of the resume and a Skills section at the bottom, which could be confusing. One possible solution to this problem is consolidating both sections into one. Another one is to keep the second list separate, but placed underneath the skills section and labeled Areas of Expertise. The first list was well-done in using a table format with bullet points and short phrases while the second list uses sentences, not bullet points, and is not in a table format: RIGHT

Certifications: Certified in the use of radioactive nuclides, BSL-2+/3 laboratories, bloodborne pathogens and animal handling procedures and protocols.

Language: I speak Germany fluently as a second language and have six years of formal Spanish education.

A suggested improvement follows: SKILLS

Experimental planning and development

Next generation sequencing

Bioinformatic analysis and genome mining

Interpreting and compiling data

Scientific and technical writing

Molecular techniquesEstablishing high-throughput assays

Organized team player Various computer and software skills

Laboratory equipment experience

German

Spanish

This section is a good place to use keywords and phrases for the targeted industry. You should have a minimum of three to four items in each column but not more than eight.

Experience section

The PhD Candidate resume should use bullet points instead of paragraphs to describe each position. However, the resume does a good job of highlighting duties and achievements and includes the dates and locations of employment. The adjustments can be simple:

Formed models of virulence factors for Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of the plague, based on a comprehensive study involving biochemical characterization, examining metabolic traits, creating mutations in genes of interest, gene expression profiling and transcriptome analysis.

Developed a novel diagnostic technique based on qPCR for the safe detection of highly pathogenic bacteria (plague, anthrax and tularemia) from clinical and environmental samples.

Established an institute wide protocol for isolation of nucleic acids and quality control standards for transcriptomics and RT-qPCR based on MIQE guidelines.

Submitted data to peer reviewed journals and applied for government grants.

Certifications and Education

This section should be added to the bottom of the resume. If there was only one certification and it was earned during the PhD program, it could be included in the Education section. However, this candidate has several certifications, so he should have a section to list these so that they would have more visibility than if they were combined with Skills. If you want a resume that will highlight your skills and experience, as shown with this PhD candidate resume sample, trust the experts advice. Use QuintCareer’s Resume Builder to build your own resume and increase your chances of getting the next position.

Dr. Randall S. Hansen is founder of Quintessential Careers, one of the oldest and most comprehensive career development sites on the Web, as well CEO of EmpoweringSites.com. He is also founder of MyCollegeSuccessStory.com and EnhanceMyVocabulary.com. He is publisher of Quintessential Careers Press, including the Quintessential Careers electronic newsletter, QuintZine. Dr. Hansen is also a published author, with several books, chapters in books, and hundreds of articles. He’s often quoted in the media and conducts empowering workshops around the country. Finally, Dr. Hansen is also an educator, having taught at the college level for more than 15 years. Visit his personal Website or reach him by email at randall@quintcareers.com. Check out Dr. Hansen on GooglePlus.